I see kin-strife's as not referring to the "hard sciences", (I mean, he doesn't give us a breakdown of Elf DNA), but more of the "natural sciences". Tolkien approaches his work as if he were a cultural anthropologist or an archaeologist.
Most fantasy authors will plop a fantastical character down in the book, and assume the readers will just accept, or that they have enough background in the basic archtypes that little background information is needed.
But every Tolkien character is a vast historical and cultural bulwark behind him, defining his actions and beliefs.
And even though Tolkien made these backgrounds out of bits and pieces, they have an air of authenticity because they are all based on real ancient cultures. It has the ring of truth to us because it is OUR truths, handed down to us through the ages.
And of course, few fantasy novels have a companion source book, as LOTR does in the Silmarillion.
[ June 15, 2002: Message edited by: Birdland ]
|